Steve Jones: Can Genes Predict Criminal Behavior?
Australian Broadcasting Corporation - The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Many people see their fate as rather like a cake, which can be sliced into a piece called Nature – what you are born with: your DNA -- and another known as Nurture --the way you live. Life -- genetics --alas, is not so simple; to separate those ingredients one would have to unbake the cake, which is impossible.The UK’s Professor Steve Jones is keenly interested in understanding diversity, the role of natural selection and the nature of genetic differences between species. His research has led him to study the ecological genetics of snails, fruit flies and humans. In more recent years however, with information on the genetics of human populations expanding, Jones’ interests have moved more towards human genetics.In this talk, the award-winning science writer discusses everything from the genetics of the royal family and the Siamese cat to what happens to those who eat too much cake and whether genes might indeed influence our chance of becoming obese.Jones was guest of the CSIRO in Canberra.